Category: Europe

Current Geopolitical Factors of the Development of Relations Between the EU and China

vraevski

Serhiy Polyovyk The geopolitical situation in Europe and in the world keeps getting aggravated, and experts believe that for quite objective reasons. Such as: the relationship between the ambitious US administration headed by President D. Trump and the ambitious China –  the world’s largest economic competitor of the United States; unpredictability in the postmodern world of intentions and actions of the nuclear Russia, which is forced to take measures for its existence and acceptable positioning in the system of new geopolitical priorities; significant weakening of the unity of the European…

More >>

European Parliament 2019–2024. Provisional results

vraevski

Roman Kot May 23–26, 2019, voters of the 28 EU Member States elected a new European Parliament. From the very beginning, the election campaign was subject to special and even excessive attention (as compared with the voters’ traditional perceptions of this institution as a secondary one). Several factors contributed to this: the growing popularity of populists all over Europe, the decline in trusting traditional European-wide political forces: the “European People’s Party” (EPP) and, in particular, the “Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats” (S&D), and greater attention to problems of ecology. All these trends were manifested during the voting and in general, with…

More >>

About the EU’s Enlargement to the East As a Common Success

vraevski

An Economic Point of View From Germany   Serhiy Polyovyk Analyzing the EU’s relationships with new members of the European Union, European analysts are paying special attention to the peculiarities of their internal political relations. Their conclusions, which were prepared on the eve of the recent elections to the European Parliament in May 2019, allow to predict further activity of the European Union in the current format. And while the active policies of new members are not always consolidated with the EU’s policy, experts believe that the enlargement is beneficial to all members of the European community. Obviously, in the future, the confrontation and…

More >>

The Government Crisis in Austria on the Eve of the Elections to the European Parliament

vraevski

The official policy of the formally neutral Austria has long been under the watchful eye of European partners   Serhiy Polyovyk Analysts, observing the changes in the situation on the eve of the next election to the European Parliament, are forced to take into account the government crisis in a neutral country like Austria. Large volumes of sensitive material about the two years ago scandal, analytical studies on the reasons for the publication of the information discrediting Austrian politicians, which had led to the collapse of the government coalition and early elections in Austria, the key figures in the Austrian top business that…

More >>

The Eastern Partnership Crisis and Conclusions for Ukraine

vraevski

The team of the newly elected President of Ukraine and the Ukrainian diplomacy need to modernize our foreign policy and redistribute the efforts   Roman Kot This week, Brussels celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). This format, after the ten Central and Eastern European countries’ joining the EU in 2004, was to answer the question: “What has to be done with the six other states on eastern borders of the European Union?” At the first stage of work of the EaP, the answer was found. However, after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in the Crimea and the Donbas, it became clear that the European Union had…

More >>

Contrary to the Trend: Summing up Parliamentary Elections in Spain

vraevski

Will the Anti-Russian Consensus Survive in the Spanish Establishment?   Roman Kot The dynamics of political processes in the EU countries after the migration crisis is accompanied by tectonic changes, which gradually, but inevitably, bring about the coming to power of the right-wing populist forces. This is manifested, in particular, in the fall in the ratings of traditional centre-right, and, especially, centre-left parties. At the same time, the forces that dragged on this electorate have not yet gained enough popularity (with the exception of the Italian ones) to form a majority and a government. All of this often leads…

More >>

Authority of Austria’s Intelligence — In Ambiguo

vraevski

The Role and Risks of the Activities of National Intelligence Services of the EU Countries in Achieving Political Goals   Serhiy Polyovyk The scandal caused by the Austrian intelligence services remains front and centre in the mind of European analysts in security, defense and special services of the EU. It broke into the open when European counterparts put forward reasonable suspicions against the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT) because of Austria’s over-loyalty to Russia. These suspicions are also confirmed by links between the right-wing radical parliamentary Freedom Party…

More >>

Cooperation of Intelligence Services

vraevski

Austrian Intelligence Feels Isolated at the International Level   Serhiy Polyovyk The popular German periodical, weekly Der Spiegel, on the 1st of April 2019 published an editorial with reference to mfh/dpa about Germany’s being concerned with the development of right-wing extremist tendencies in Austria. The question is: is it advisable to continue to co-operate with some representatives of the Austrian government, who share extremist and nationalistic views? To the earlier concerns about Austrian policy, are added the European partners’ fears regarding the neighbouring Austria’s special services’ excessive dependence on Russia. In the European…

More >>

China’s Marching Westwards

vraevski

How Safe Is the “New Silk Road”   Serhiy Polyovyk The authoritative German edition Handelsblatt, specializing in economic studies and forecasts, and determining financial world trends, on March 29 posted analytical material on the EU-China Summit to be held on April 9 in Brussels. It reports that not only German analysts, but also their European colleagues believe that China’s strategic initiative “The Belt and Road”, which has already been partially implemented in different regions of the world, is a threat to Europe. And it explains its essence, which is, in fact, the economic absorption of…

More >>

China Is Making It to Europe from the South

vraevski

Roman Kot Despite the fact that the European Union remains one of the largest economic powers in the world, politically, European states failed to develop a single entity that would allow them to respond collectively to external or internal challenges. As a result, the EU is forced to step back and focus on one of two global powers: China or the United States. Traditionally, the established cooperation with the United States, especially within the framework of NATO, for a long time allowed Europe, under security umbrella, to care about the economy, not the army. At the same time, the…

More >>